RENO -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., sat down in his Reno office with Reno Gazette-Journal political writer Ray Hagar to talk about current events. Here is a slightly edited transcript of the interview:

Question: The Nevada exchange for the Affordable Care Act is beginning to be rolled out, and recently you were asked on a Las Vegas TV show if your goal was to move Obamacare to a single-payer system. Your answer was, "Yes, yes. Absolutely, yes." Are we evolving into a single-payer or government-based health insurance system?

Answer: The question was, 'Is the present system the best?' And I said no. It would be better, and we have tried a number of different things. We tried for example, having a program where younger people could get on Medicare. We thought we had that done. ...

I had a number of people who wanted to do a single-payer system. I would have voted for a single-payer system. But with legislation, you do what you can get done. And that is what we could get done. So the single-payer system, we may get it done sometime, but I wouldn't hold your breath. I'm not holding mine.

Q: Because of Russia's anti-gay restrictions, should the United States boycott the Sochi Winter Olympic Games?

A: No, no. We tried boycotting the Olympic Games once. (President Jimmy) Carter did it. Although I like him very much, it was really not fair. First of all, it did not hurt the host country (Soviet Union in 1980), only our athletes. It's about this: You have somebody who trains for four years to run the hurdles, to run 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters or archery, whatever. And then, suddenly, you are told you can't go because of politics?

Q: One of the things in the news recently was a suggestion from you that some of the opposition against President Barack Obama was racially motivated. You noted that Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., once said his one goal was to make sure President Obama didn't get re-elected. Can you expand?

A: I harmlessly said that I hope none of the opposition to Obama is racial. Period. That's what I said. And I see nothing wrong in saying it. That's how I feel. I hope none of it is racial. I don't know. I hope it is not.

Q: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. Do you agree?

A: I think Snowden is a traitor, and I think he has hurt our country, and I hope someday he is brought to justice.

Q: President Obama has canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over tension around Snowden's asylum. What is Putin's role in this? Do you have an opinion on that?

A: Yes. Putin is a former head of the KGB.

I liked his predecessor, Dmitry Medvedev. I thought he was great. Putin appears to me to be a cold, calculating guy. I have never met him, but I met his predecessor. So I am not a big fan of Putin's.

I think he has been pretty tough on the democracy movement in Russia. But saying that, it (the U.S. relationship with Russia, former USSR) sure is a lot better than when my kids were growing up. They were afraid they were going to get toasted every night with a nuclear holocaust. So it's better days.

Q: Do you have any thoughts about the possibility of running against Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, in the 2016 U.S. Senate race?

A: Brian is a nice guy. If he wants to run, run. You know, you have a long list of people that I've run against ... Bob Broadbent ... Peggy Cavnar ... Demar Dahl ... Paul Laxalt, John Ensign. So if Brian wants to join that group, let him do it. I don't care.

Q: If Sandoval ran, would he be your most formidable opponent?

A: "Every opponent is formidable, every candidate. I have a long history with him. I appointed him to the federal bench. He did a reasonable good job there, good job, reasonably good. He beat my son (in the 2010 gubernatorial election), and I like him.

Q: Are you going to run again in 2016?

A: I've been telling people that for a long time.

Q: You have been back visiting Nevada, all through the state. What is the No. 1 concern for Nevada today?

A: Jobs. Jobs. The jobs are almost right there. We are so close to having jobs. The private sector is doing OK in Nevada and across the country. ... We need to create some jobs. We have 70,000 bridges in a state of disrepair in America. We have water systems, sewer systems, dams, highways, roadways. There is so much we can do. It is so long overdue. ... When the federal government spends it, it goes to the private sector to create those jobs. For every $1 billion (we spend), it's 47,500 high-paying jobs, and a number of low-paying jobs in a spinoff. That is what we should be working on.

But the (tea party) Republicans ... they are modern-day anarchists. That's what they are. They are not violent in a physical sense. But they are violent in what harm they do to government.